Ultra-efficient photocatalytic deprivation of methylene blue and biological activities of biogenic silver nanoparticles

• Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Lychee (Litchi chinensis) fruit peel
• Silver nanoparticles have significant biological activities.
• Silver nanoparticles undergo high cell constituent release from bacterial cells.
• Silver nanoparticles have no toxicity to normal and healthy RBCs.
• Silver nanoparticles have ultra-efficient photocatalytic activity than commercially available silver nanoparticles.

Phytosynthesis of metal nanoparticles is considered as a safe, cost-effective, and green approach. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully synthesized using the aqueous extract of Lychee (Litchi chinensis) fruit peel and an aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by several analytical techniques i.e. UV–Vis Spectroscopy, XRD (X-ray diffraction spectroscopy), EDX (electron dispersive X-ray), SAED (selected area electron diffraction), HRTEM (high-resolution transmission electron microscopy), and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). HRTEM and XRD results indicated that the prepared AgNPs are spherical in shape, well dispersed and face centered cubic crystalline. AgNPs showed potent antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were 125 μg against E. coli and 62.5 μg against both S. aureus and B. subtilis. AgNPs induce efficient cell constituent release from bacterial cells, which indicates the deterioration of cytoplasmic membrane. Moreover, antioxidant studies on the as-synthesized nanoparticles reveal efficient scavenging of the stable or harmful DPPH free radical. The cytotoxicity assay confirmed that biosynthesized AgNPs are nontoxic to normal healthy RBCs. AgNPs exhibited consistent release of Ag+ determined by ICP-AES analysis. AgNPs exhibited extraordinary photocatalytic degradation (99.24%) of methylene blue. On the other hand, commercial silver nanoparticles have moderate biological activities against the tested bacterial strains and negligible photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The significant biological and photocatalytic activities of the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles are attributed to their small size, spherical morphology and high dispersion.